Sticks and Stones
by ThisIsMyGuise
Summary: "Remind me again, why exactly are we here?" I asked my best friend as I frowned at the formidable, grey building. With its gothic architecture and black iron gates, it looked more like an asylum than a school. But then again, maybe I needed to be in an asylum for actually agreeing to this in the first place.
1. Chapter 1

"Remind me again, why exactly are we here?" I asked my best friend as I frowned at the formidable, grey building. With its gothic architecture and black iron gates, it looked more like an asylum than a school. But then again, maybe I needed to be in an asylum for actually agreeing to this in the first place.

"It's an adventure," Adrian replied, smiling brightly as he took in St Vladimir's School for Moroi and Dhampirs. I rolled my eyes at his predictable response. To Adrian, everything was an adventure. And although I was usually all too happy to go along on the ride with him, I was really starting to regret my choice in friends.

"The last adventure we went on got me suspended," I reminded him, referring to one of Adrian's many drinking sprees that had gotten me into trouble with my instructors back at our old school. Instead of looking ashamed, Adrian was glowing with smugness. Even though he was a few years older than me, he acted like a five year old most of time, constantly playing the game he fondly, but unimaginatively, called 'Getting Rose In Trouble'. Adrian was a master at this game; though that was mainly because I could easily get into trouble without his help.

"So you got suspended. You can't deny you didn't have fun," he said, his tone full of arrogance due to the fact he was right. We did have a great time in Vegas, even though I could only remember a few hazy memories of our time spent partying.

"Drinking and dancing is fun. Transferring schools is not," I told him, giving him a dirty look which he promptly ignored. I couldn't actually believe that he had managed to convince me to do this. My life was at St Raphael's. My friends were at St Raphael's. And sure, Adrian was my best friend, and sure, I was going to guard him as soon as I graduated so I was going to have to get used to him dragging me around here, there and everywhere, but did he really have to decide he wanted to go to Montana? I honestly couldn't see the draw.

"But you're forgetting one thing, Little Dhampir," Adrian said, causing me to scowl at his nickname for me, "I'm here. Therefore it will be fun, because I am fun."

"No, you're an annoying, arrogant idiot," I told him, sighing dramatically as I continued to stare at my new school.

"You're words can be so hurtful, Rosemarie," Adrian laughed, nudging me with his elbow. I mocked glared at him, still not impressed by the fact that somehow he had managed to convince me this was a good idea.

It wasn't. It was a terrible idea. I could deal with Adrian's partying. Hell, I was usually there partying just as hard. But this wasn't about having a good time. This was about attempting to find out the truth, and I wasn't sure if Adrian could cope with what he found out.

Although he liked to act like a jackass, he wasn't. In fact, Adrian was probably the kindest, most loving person I had ever met. He was fragile, and he was weak. And he needed me to protect him; not just from strigoi, but from himself. He was his own worst enemy. And I had a horrible feeling that finding out the truth would be the last straw for him.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked, praying that he would suddenly change his mind. It wouldn't have surprised me if he had. Adrian was quite fickle at times. But instead of deciding that he wanted to bail, that he wanted to party in New York or even London, he just nodded vigorously.

"Yes, I'm sure. What's there to lose?"

_You're sanity_, I answered silently, feeling guilty as soon as the words entered my mind. I just nodded slowly, taking a deep breath as Adrian – ever the gentleman – walked towards the school leaving me to carry both of our belongings. _Here comes nothing_, I thought, glaring at the gloomy building towering over me, before stepping through the gates and entering my own personal type of hell.

* * *

**AN: So this is the prologue to my latest story, Sticks and Stones. It was inspired by the third chapter of my other VA story, Pillars of Sand (if you haven't checked it out, then please, go read!) as I really enjoyed writing the friendship between Rose and Adrian, hence this. The story itself is set during the first book and there are a couple of differences, the main one being Adrian and Rose being best friends, and the fact that Lissa's family is still alive. Anywho, thanks for reading, and please, review!**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN VA!**


	2. Chapter 2

I had to jog a little to keep up with Adrian's brisk pace, which was hard considering I was also juggling our bags as well. Adrian stopped and turned round, obviously suddenly aware that I wasn't right behind him, and laughed as he saw me struggle with all our belongings.

"A little help would be nice," I told him, glaring as he chuckled to himself. He waited until I had finally caught up with him before reaching over and grabbing a couple of bags. "Thanks," I said, my tone sarcastic, causing him to laugh even more.

"You're welcome, Little Dhampir," he replied, choosing to ignore my comment. That was one of the main reasons we got on so well; he ignored my snide remarks, and I ignored his futile attempts at hitting on me.

Adrian slung one of the bags on his shoulder and held onto the other one, allowing his free arm to wrap itself around my waist. I rolled my eyes, but didn't comment. I was used to this sort of behaviour. In fact, I expected this sort of behaviour from Adrian. He liked to cause a scene; he liked to get people talking, and what better way was there to do this than making out that he, a royal Moroi and great nephew of the Queen, was in some sort of seedy relationship with a lowly Dhampir girl who couldn't keep her anger issues under control.

I suppose I should have been insulted that Adrian used me like this, but if I were to be perfectly honest, a part of me enjoyed the attention. Plus, it was always fun to wind up the stuffy Moroi royals.

We walked side by side through the school grounds. The place was eerily empty, which was surprising seeing as it had just turned midnight, meaning that it was lunch. Horror seeped into me as I wondered whether these Moroi and Dhampir students ate inside, where they were supposed to. Horror seeped into me as I wondered whether these Moroi and Dhampir students actually did what they were told.

Back on the east coast, anything went. People did what they want, when they want. Instead of being a drag, school was more like a party, especially when Adrian still attended. Sure, since the party-boy had graduated, things had quietened down a bit, but there was still life in the place. There was still a vibe.

I shuddered, looking around at the neatly trimmed rose bushes that adorned the path. Everything here was so quant, everything here was so cute. Everything here made me want to be physically sick.

"Come on, the office is this way," Adrian said, attempting to drag me in the wrong direction. I quickly wriggled myself out of his grasp and placed my free hand on my hip as I looked at him in an incredulous manner.

"Adrian, contrary to popular belief, I can read. And there's a sign right there, that says the office is this way," I said, pointing left. I couldn't actually believe he was trying to pull one over me. The path he wanted to take meandered towards a quad, and I could only guess that that was where the cafeteria was situated. I could only guess that Adrian wanted to announce his arrival and start the rumour mill about the two of us running a mile a minute.

The way he was grinning at me unabashedly confirmed my suspicions. I rolled my eyes at him, unable to believe that he actually thought I would fall for that trick. Adrian loved being in the centre of attention, and although I was usually happy to join him in the spotlight, I wasn't in the mood. He would have to wait to parade around arrogantly. He would have to wait to bask in the limelight.

Dutifully, he mocked saluted me and followed me in the right direction. I stifled a sigh of relief. I half expected him to make a fuss and try to persuade me otherwise, but he obviously realised I was close to losing my cool.

All too soon, we arrived at the headmistress' office. I couldn't remember her name, not that it bothered me. I wasn't planning on sticking around too long and I especially wasn't planning on being buddies with the headmistress during my time at the school.

I knocked on the door to the office, and before anyone inside could reply, I turned the door handle ad strode confidently into the room. Again, Adrian followed my dutifully, but not without raising his eyebrows quizzically at my sudden urge to sign paperwork. So far I had shown barely any interest in transferring schools. In fact I had made it obviously clear that I thought it was an awful idea. But my thinking was that the sooner I completed my transfer, the sooner I could be out of the school and having fun with Adrian in the real world.

A collection of people rose as we entered. A couple of them were moroi and a couple of them were dhampirs, but I paid little attention to them. I just sat down opposite the headmistress, a moroi woman in her early fifties who resembled an owl more than she did an actual human being. "You must be Rosemarie," she stated, frowning at me over her glasses. I just nodded, not bothering to answer such a stupid question. "Let's start, shall we?"

A good half an hour later and we were still sat in the office. I was trying to stifle a yawn as Headmistress Kirova frowned whilst thumbing through my rather large and expansive folder which was bringing back a multitude of memories, especially seeing as Adrian was sat right beside me, grinning like the idiot he was. I had often found myself in a similar position back at my old school, and I doubted things were going to change much here at Saint Vladimir's. Sure, there was an actual purpose to us being here, but I found it extremely unlikely that Adrian would be able to keep us out of trouble. The temptation was too much for him to resist most of the time.

"Miss Hathaway," Kirova said formidably, snapping me out of my trip down memory lane. I had been in trouble so many times that I knew that the fact she was referring to me by my surname was a bad sign. A very bad sign. "You have a reputation. You have a record. You seem to think that you can do whatever you want, when you want. Well, you may have been able to get away with that sort of behaviour at your old school, but I assure you, it won't be tolerated here. You will turn up to classes on time. You will not answer back to your instructors. You will not run of to Las Vegas for a weekend of partying. Do you understand?"

Beside me, Adrian was trying – and failing miserably – to hide his amusement. I shot him a look of annoyance, hoping that would help hush his laughter, but it only increased it. I turned my attention back to the headmistress and nodded sadly.

It wasn't fair. I didn't even want to be here. But because I was an awesome friend to Adrian, I was willing to follow him halfway across the country. I was willing to attend this hellhole for him. And all he could do was laugh at my expense.

"That will be all, then. I hope I won't have to see you in my office again, Miss Hathaway. Now, here's your timetable. You can drop your belongings at your room and then run along to your classes," Kirova stated, ushering us out of her office with a distracted wave of her hand. Silently we left, followed closely by both of the guardians who had silently watched the whole debacle.

They led us out of the building and down a long and winding path. Adrian tried to lock his arm through mine, but I pulled away with a huff. "This isn't funny, Adrian," I hissed at him. I was seriously regretting agreeing to come with him here. Not only was I pretty sure it was going to end in disaster, it was going to be tediously boring. We were in freaking Montana. Nothing interesting happened in Montana. Ever.

"It's kinda funny," he replied, giving me a wink. Whilst he was looking at me, he failed to notice that the guardians had stopped, and so he ran into the back of one of them. I sniggered, causing him to mock glare at me as he tried to regain his balance.

"No, that was kinda funny," I informed him in between my barks of laughter. Both of the guardians watched us, not amused by our childlike behaviour, but that only made the situation even funnier and Adrian ended up joining me in my fit of giggles.

"The dhampir dorms are this way," one of the dhampirs said, her tone bored, obviously wanting to get back to her real job rather than escorting two kids around campus. Not that Adrian was actually a kid, but he acted worse than me most of the time. It was scary to think that I was actually the mature, sensible one out of the two of us.

"Lead the way," I told her, indicating her to start walking again. She just glared down at me – obviously she wasn't keen on me – and turned her attention to Adrian.

"Lord Ivashkov, the guesthouse is that way. I'm sure my colleague will be happy to escort you there," she stated, her tone of voice a lot more pleasant than the one she had directed at me, not that it surprised me. She could get away with being a bitch to me. She could hardly be a bitch to the great-nephew of the queen though.

Adrian just nodded, but didn't move. "Thanks, but I think I'll come with you guys," he told her, his eyes sparkling as he silently dared her to disagree with him. I smirked and took a step back, intent on watching the entertainment. Barely anyone dared to disagree with Adrian; only the brave, the stupid and the stupidly brave tried to tell him what to do.

"I'm afraid that isn't an option, Lord Ivashkov. You are not a student here and therefore aren't supposed to be on the campus during school hours," she told him, surprisingly us all, including herself. She tried to stand confident but it was obvious that she was nothing more than a meek mouse. You could basically see her begging Adrian not to get her into trouble for speaking back at him.

I didn't know what made me do it – although it was probably to do with the fact I was still annoyed at Adrian – but I decided to make it easier for her. "I'll see you later, Adrian," I told him pointedly. He looked taken aback, but he knew me too well to know when to pick his battles with me and this wasn't the time. He nodded sadly, giving me his sad puppy dog eyes which I promptly ignored. He pulled me into a hug and I complied.

"Yes, you will, Little Dhampir," Adrian replied elusively, bowing exaggeratedly towards the guardian and me before wandering off in the opposite direction. He fumbled through his pocket, probably trying to find a cigarette to smoke. Only, he hadn't realised that I had confiscated them – well, more like nicked them – earlier, and I sniggered, watching him look in vain.

As my best friend disappeared from sight, I turned to face the guardian again. "Shall we get this show on the road?" I asked in a typical Rose Hathaway bravado. Without even waiting for a reply, I walked off, hoping that the sooner I got on with my education, the sooner I could leave this place behind.

* * *

**AN: So I had some free time on my hands (ie. I was procrastinating) and thought I'd write the next chapter for this story. I probably shouldn't start writing a new story, not when I have so much work to be doing, as well as the fact that I still have several unfinished stories, but I just couldn't help myself =]**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN VA!**


	3. Chapter 3

By the time I had dropped my belongings off at my dorm, I had already managed to miss my morning classes , as well as the first half of the next one. On any other day, it wouldn't have bothered me. In fact, I usually relished at the thought of missing classes. But today was like no ordinary day. I practically hated school. The only thing I hated more than school was transferring schools.

I dawdled and dragged my feet into the gravel as the guardian walked me to the gym. I had even thought about doing a runner or suddenly pretending to come down with some allusive, mysterious illness, but that was the coward's way out. And I was most definitely not a coward.

I quickly checked that my hair was neatly tied back and held my head straight and high as I walked into the gym, confidence oozing from every step. But that confidence quickly evaporated because as soon as I walked in, everybody stopped what they were doing and stared intently at me, causing me to stumble and stall as I tried to avoid their eyes. Having several pairs of eyes carefully watch me wasn't exactly a pleasant experience, and I cursed Adrian for putting me through this. It was his entire fault. It was his stupid idea. And he was going to pay for it. I was going to make sure he would pay for it.

Then I realised, they weren't staring at me. Well, they were, but more specifically, they were staring at my neck and the small tattoo that I kept on forgetting about. Cursing under my breath at the stupid decision I had made to wear my hair up, I dragged my bobble out, covering my molnija mark with my hair.

I didn't get why everyone seemed to be fascinated by it. I didn't see what the big deal was. I had only done what I had been trained to do, so it wasn't as if I had somehow done something magnificent. I had done my job, end off.

Feeling slightly pissed off, I turned to face one of my apparent classmates. He was red-headed, tall, like most dhampirs, and was basically gawping at me. "Would you prefer it if I just gave you a photo? That way, you can perv at me in your own time instead of wasting mine," I barked at him, before flouncing off to the other side of the gym and sitting down on a bench.

My insult seemed to awaken everyone from their slumber, and quickly the class restarted. That said, I didn't take part. The instructor tried to get me to participate, but I quickly instructed him that I was just going to watch. I had missed most of it already, plus I wasn't exactly wearing appropriate clothing. Sure, I looked great in my skinny jeans, but they weren't exactly practical. I couldn't exactly work out in them.

As soon as the bell went, I was straight out of the door and on my way to the next class. Nobody tried to talk to me or attempt to befriend me, something which I was glad about, because I wasn't exactly in the mood for small talk. But that didn't mean they weren't talking about me. Apparently the people of St Vladimir's didn't know how to whisper, because I could clearly hear everything a small cluster of girls in my class was saying about me from across the room. They quickly shut the hell up, though, when I gave them a not so friendly glare.

I would like to say that my next few classes blurred quickly into one, but they didn't. Instead, they were a drag. I spent most of the time carefully watching the clock instead of paying attention to my instructors. I couldn't wait for dinner. I had missed lunch and was starving, which made my suffering a hell of a lot worse.

By the time my first day at St Vladimir's had ended, I was ready to quit. My classmates were annoying, the instructors were pricks, especially one called Stan who forced me to introduce myself, and they had an extra class in their schedule, meaning I had to wait an extra hour till dinner.

But eventually, dinner came, and I couldn't help but sigh in relief, causing the people sat around me to shoot me some curious glances which I shrugged off easily. I practically skipped to the cafeteria and loaded my plate with food. Adrian was already there, sitting with a group of royals. He waved to me, indicating for me to go over and join them, but I ignored him.

I wasn't exactly in the mood to socialise with some stuck up moroi. Although I loved Adrian, he was the only royal I could stand. So instead of joining my friend, I found an empty table and sat down. Only, it didn't stay empty for long, because two guys quickly joined me. "That seat's taken and so is that one. In fact every empty seat you see is taken," I informed them, not bothering to look up from my food as I spoke to them.

"Look, I just wanted to say I'm sorry," one of the guys said, my interest suddenly surging.

I looked up, noticing that it was the red-headed kid I had yelled at earlier and his friend. They had been in most of my classes, but I couldn't remember either's name. "Go on," I told them, indicating with my fork for the ginger one to carry on with his apology.

"I'm sorry for staring at you," he mumbled, not quite meeting my eyes. His face was nearly as red as his hair, and I couldn't help but smirk at how obvious it was that he was nervous to be around me.

I shrugged and shovelled some food into my mouth. Swallowing, I told him, "I guess I'm sorry too. You know, for yelling at you."

Before anyone else could speak though, we were rudely interrupted. A hand wrapped itself around my waist, and Adrian began to nuzzle his way beside me. I huffed slightly, tensing up my body. Of course, I was used to this sort of behaviour, but that didn't mean I was always fond of it. Whenever he saw me talking to another guy, Adrian would always appear, like a freaking ninja jumping out of the shadows and latching himself onto me. I think he thought he was protecting me in some warped way, but most of the time he just annoyed the hell out of me. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends, Rose?" he asked, his voice lightly laced with innocence, suggesting that he was trying to wind me up on purpose.

I stalled. I would have introduced them to him, if I knew their names. But I didn't. I blinked, and wondered what the chances were of me randomly guessing their names right.

And then I remembered that I was Rose freaking Hathaway and that I could get away with near enough anything. "This is Random Guy One and that is Random Guy Two," I stated chirpily, not really caring if I sounded rude or anything like that. I was tired, I was hungry and all I really wanted to do was go to sleep and possibly never wake up.

Without missing a beat, Adrian perked up, "You're mothers' must have hated you as kids if they gave you them terrible names," he drawled, picking up one of my fries and munching on it. I elbowed him in response, causing Adrian to wince in pain. The two dhampirs looked on in horror, obviously not used to novices beating up their royal best friends.

The other guy, the one without the red hair, finally decided to speak. "I'm Eddie, and that's Mason," he said, smiling pleasantly. I tried to resist the urge to groan out loud and to roll my eyes; these people were way too happy for my liking. But if I was going to survive here, then I needed to make some new friends, especially seeing as Adrian was getting on my nerves. Sure, the guy got on my nerves most of the time, but I was tired and grouchy and he seemed to be uber annoying today.

I forced a smile. "Hi. I'm Rose and this asshole is Adrian," I told them, although I was pretty sure that they knew who both of us were. After all, I had classes with them, and Adrian was a royal. My comment must have made them uncomfortable though, because they tried to shoot each other a subtle look as they comprehended my words, but Rose Hathaway missed nothing. Realising that I had to explain, I smiled again, this time more genuine. "It's okay. I'm allowed to call him that. He's my best friend...unfortunately," I told them, adding the last bit as an afterthought.

"Hey!" Adrian cried out, suddenly realising that I had been insulting him. Adrian had the habit of dozing of mid conversation, usually when he was bored or hung over, which was most of the time. "You love me really."

"I must, seeing as I followed you across the country," I remarked, pushing my plate away as I finished up eating.

Adrian smiled. "Have I said 'thank you' for that yet?"

"Nope," I replied, popping the 'p' sound harshly.

"Thanks," he said, the joking tone that he had been using vanishing as he suddenly became sincere.

I nodded, resting my head on his shoulder. "I know." Suddenly realising that we weren't alone at the table, I turned to face Eddie and Mason. "I really need to go and unpack. I'll see you guys tomorrow," I told them, grabbing hold of Adrian's hand and pulling him up with me. Without waiting for a reply from the two dhampirs, I dragged Adrian out of the cafeteria. Instead of going back to my room like I had claimed, I wandered aimlessly around campus, Adrian loyally following me silently.

We walked for five minutes, until the chatter of the cafeteria died out. I stopped and leaned against a wall; Adrian mirrored my actions. "Why am I not surprised that you're already breaking the hearts of some poor guys, Little Dhampir?" Adrian commented, finally speaking.

I frowned, turning to face him. "What?" I asked, ineloquently.

"Random Guys One and Two are completely infatuated with you, Rose. Well, Random Guy Two is in awe of you. Random Guy One actually fancies you," he replied, smiling brightly.

Rolling my eyes at him, I disagreed. "No. They're not," I argued. Why would they? I mean, sure, I was hot. But I hadn't exactly been pleasant to them.

"Yeah they are. I know these things, remember?" Adrian said assertively, tapping himself on his head and nodding knowingly. I sighed, suddenly feeling really uncomfortable. I hated having these sorts of conversations with Adrian. It was a delicate subject and I had no idea how to deal with him when he was like this. I could deal with a drunk Adrian. I could deal with a touchy-feely Adrian. I could deal with an annoying Adrian. I just couldn't deal with a deep, philosophical Adrian.

He thought that he was different. He thought that he was special. And sometimes he knew things that he shouldn't know. And because of this, he had recently concluded that he was a psychic. But seeing as he had come to this conclusion after a night spent guzzling bottle of vodka after bottle of vodka, I was a little apprehensive. I was no psychologist, but I was pretty sure Adrian was compensating for the fact that he hadn't yet specialised in an element.

"Adrian," I said, my voice wary.

"Rose," he mimicked, rolling his eyes at me, before his features suddenly shifted, becoming more serious. "You said you were going to support me," he said, his voice small and barely audible.

Sighing, I started to walk again. A couple of seconds later, I heard the soft footsteps of Adrian following me. "I am supporting you. I'm here, aren't I?" I reminded him, my voice harsh as I pivoted on the spot so that I could look at him. His green eyes were wide, and I suddenly pitied him. I knew things were tough for him. I knew he struggled to cope with things, and I was the only one he could really rely on. I was the only one he had talked to. "I'm sorry," I said, my cold exterior melting as I walked towards him, pulling him into a hug.

"I know," he whispered into my ear.

I took a step back, and placed my hands firmly onto his shoulders so that I could look him in the eyes. "We're going to get to the bottom of this, Adrian. I promise that we'll find out what's going on with you and I promise that everything will be okay. It's going to be okay. You're going to be okay. I know that you're going to be okay," I said, my voice full of determination as I tried to convince him, as well as myself, that things would eventually work out. But deep down, I wasn't too sure. Adrian had a hell of a lot of problems and I didn't know if we would be able to find all of the answers at St Vlads. I just didn't know.

* * *

AN: So after months of not having touched this story, I decided to finally write the next chapter. I know that I probably should focus on one story at a time, but what can I say? I'm easily distracted. So, I've devised a plan...which I'm hoping will work. I'm going to update one story (Pillars of Sand, Anchors in the Sky and Sticks and Stones) a week. That way I shouldn't get bored or distracted or whatever. That said, this rota will start in a month, mainly because I have four more weeks at uni then it's my summer holidays, meaning I can actually sit down and write!

Anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing and for generally being awesome!

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN VA!**


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